Our struggle is to bring social, political, and economic justice to our nation. This is an effort of the Chicano/Mexican American Digital History Project. https://sites.google.com/site/chicanodigital/

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Immigrants and Allies Fight Back

During
his first weeks as President, Donald Trump has enacted some alarming and
draconian executive orders. The most alarming has been his executive orders attacking
immigrants.

This
executive action, among other things, affects deportation policy and
priorities. One of the main things that this executive order does is broaden
its definition of ‘priority’ for deportation (a priority is the people that the
Department of Homeland Security focuses its resources to deport). Priorities
now include anyone that has been accused of a crime, regardless if they were
convicted or not, as well as anyone who has previously had an encounter with
the immigration system.

This
broad definition of a ‘priority’ has put millions of people under the threat of
deportation. Which is why now, more than ever, it is important for immigrants
to know and exercise their rights in case they were to come into contact with
an immigration agents and local law enforcement.

Here
are the rights that immigrants must know during a Trump presidency:

1) DO NOT OPEN YOUR DOORS

Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot come into your home without a warrant signed by an immigration court judge. With your door shut, ask them to slide the signed warrant
under the door or push it up against a window. They cannot come in unless you
let them.

2) EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT

I.C.E
can and will use anything you say against you in court. It’s important for you
to remain silent and ask to speak to your attorney. Simply tell the immigration officer: “I am exercising my fifth
amendment right and choosing to remain silent until I speak to my attorney”.

3) DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING BEFORE SPEAKING TO AN ATTORNEY

Many
times, I.C.E. and Customs and Border Protection (C.B.P.) will attempt to trick
and make you sign your own deportation. This is also known as a voluntary
departure. Do NOT sign anything that they give you without first speaking to an
attorney.

4) RECORD YOUR ENCOUNTER

It’s
important to take photos and record video on your phone unless you are on
federal government property. Take detailed notes of badge numbers, amount of
agents, time, type of cars they used, and exactly what happened. Reporting this
information will help us determine if any rights violation was made on behalf
of the immigration agency and help us expose their rouge,
manipulative tactics that they use to round up and deport
immigrants.

5) REPORT YOUR ENCOUNTER

United
We Dream runs a hotline called the MigraWatch Hotline for people to report
activity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E), Customs and Border
Protection (C.B.P), or any other immigration agencies. Report the activity by calling this hotline at 1-844-363-1423.

6) GET HELP

Get a
trustworthy attorney and explore all options to fight your case. If detained,
remember that you might be able to get bail – don’t lose hope. Visit our
partners, IMMI,
to find free or low-cost legal help near you.

7) FIGHT BACK

Another
way to fight back, is to join a community that has your back. As the largest
immigrant youth-led network in the country, United We Dream has helped stop
hundreds of deportations. Text HereToStay to 877877 to fight back alongside us.